, 1887-09-15
ST. JOSEPH, NO.
A CHAT ABOUT ITS RESOURCES
AND PROSPECTS.
its Population Now 60, 600 and Its Dusi-
mes, Over sIIO.OOO.OOO a Year-Its
Streets and Public Improvements-Itc
Jobbing STrade and Manufacturers.

ness Over SI1O,OOO,OO d Year-Its
! Streets and Public Improvements-Itc
| JObbing Srrade and Manufacturers.
Especial Correspondence
NEW YORK, Aug. 2L.
| l heard a great deal during my western
/ trip about tine prosperity which St Joseph,
No, Is having. 1t is one of the oldest towns
| on the Missouri river, and it has always been
| looked upon as one of the most substantial
1t was an Indian trading post in 1876, town
| site ia lS2;i, and it is now one of the leading
! jobhing cities OF the west. did not visit it
| during the present trip, but l met today one
! OF its substantial citizens and had chat with
him IN regard to its boom. Said this man:
st Joe Is one of the wealthiest cities Of the
| United States i'll proportion to its population
1t does its own business with its own capital,
and 1t is not, like Kansas City and Omaha,
owned 10y Boston and New York;
-" hat does its business amount to."
lIs wholesale ana retail trade last wear
amounted to more than S11O, 900, ,OOO which
was an actual increase of more than S2S CO.,
| 600 over the business of 1885. OF this trade
l5,OOO,OOO was dry goods and Sl5, 600, 900 gro
cerles, while $4,000 We're made up of
| goods which We're manufactured at St Jo-
sePh- That part Of the Missouri valley is
now thoroughly settled, and St. Joseph has o
large territory containing many good sized
towns tributary to it. Its wholesale firms
| have made money, and the bank clearings of
| 1886 amounted to more than SS7, COO 900.
Smce Jan these clearings have increased
more than 70 per cent, and it is probable
that the increase of the entire present year
would reach over so per cent making the ng-
gregate for 1887 nearly S1S5, ,OOO, 600 There
are seven banks i'll st. Joe, and all are making
| money. Two have been started since the
| nFst of the year, and the five which did busi-
ness last year loaned i'll the aggregate nearly
so GOO. The deposits of these five bantS
ran high into the millions, and when you re-
member that the best rates of interest are re-
| ceiVed here 1t will he seen that one of these
western banks is perpetual gold mineS"
How about real estate!"
"St. Joseph has had real estate boom.
Prices have nearly doubled, but they are, as
u rule, based upon the foundation OF interest
bearing values The increase within the city
Is not greater than is warranted by the rents
received, and while there is some wild specu-
lation on the outskirts, there has been moth
| ing Of the craze of Wichita. ! understand
that Representative Burnes and others have
made n nice little speculation in their addi-
| tlon known as Saxton Heights A friend of
Burnes tells me that six men were engaged in
the speculation, and that each cleared $l3 600
out of it while the real estate man who
| handled it made SIS, GOO. One of the princi-
| pal streets of this addition was named after
| Mrs. President Cleveland. 1t was called Fol-
som avenue, and Mrs Cleveland sent a very
pretty letter about it in reply to the compli-
| ment.
"A great deal of building is going on in St
Joe, and during the past year moro than ST.
l,,,;I i
erected more than $500, 900 worth Of build
ings which cost over $1,000 apiece, and there
| was nearly q. 10000 spent for buildings
ranging from $500 to Sc, 500 each"
ADoes tho town do much manufacturing!n
ayes. 1t did more than SI7, ,OOO, 900 last
wear, and there has been O gain OF more than
| $500, COO over 1885. Coal has been found
near the city, and this, together with the ex-
| traoryiinary railroad facilities of the place.
will make it great manufacturing center.
We do considerable hog packing, and tins in
dustry has increased nearly $1,000, 900 in the
last year. The town has wooden mills which
employ 200 men and which use 1000 pounds
OF wool daily. There are furniture factories,
hardware factories, pow and stove works,
breweries and other institutions which ali
| told employ between 5000 and 9,0O0 men,
and which will this year make product of
about $40, ,0e0, ,OO0n
HKansas City and st. Joe are rivals Of each
other,n this gentleman went on, sand St
Joseph competes for much of the same trade
| as Kansas City. 1t has quite as good railroad
facilities and there are ten railroads leading
into it. These roads tap every part of the
country, and the drummers from here have
Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas,
Colorado and New Mexico as a part OF their
territory The Santa Fe railroad system will
he there by the first of next January and the
great diagonal has its graders now within n
few miles of the city. The last road has paid
out over $500, 600 for property and has not
asked us for bonus. Then St Joe has the
B. and n. railroad, which is one'of The great
through lines TO Denver and the Pacific coast
1t mas the Wabash, st Louis and Pacific, the
Chicago and Rock Island, the Chicago, Bur-
lington and Quincy, the Hannibal and St
Joe and other roads which radiate from her
ON the maps like the spOkeS OF a wheel.
aHow about public improvements"
@Tbe town is well supplied with street rail-
roads, and it will probably have two cables
by the first of next year. The franchises are
granted and they only wait for the machin-
ery. Our streets are smooth and are paved
with asphaltum. and / am told that nearly
S50O,O0 will be spent in street improvements
this year. We have already more than fifty
miles of stone and brick sidewalk. We have
an excellent sewerage, and our streets are
lighted with gas and electricity New street
railways are being laid upon Frederick
avenue, and there win be an electric railway
in working order within short time The
asphalt pavements of st. Joe are equal to the
pavements of Washington"
49,
SHow about your educational faciiitiesp
GAS to schools we have the best, and we
have churches Of every kind. We have as
good retail stores as you will find in the west,
and our people spend good deal upon house
furniture. All kinds of business are booming,
and both the Rock Island and the Chicago,